PIPA is an inspection scheme set up by the inflatable play industry to ensure that children’s inflatable play equipment conforms to recognised standards.
While inflatable play is normally a very safe and good way for children to exercise whilst having fun, poorly designed or badly worn equipment can increase the risk of injury to users.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 manufacturers, hirers, operators and users have a responsibility to ensure minimum risk. Clearly that risk is more easily managed if the equipment conforms to accepted standards.
PIPA provides a means for everyone in the supply chain to know that the equipment itself is safe, both on initial use and throughout its life.
BS EN 14960:2006, the European standard that most manufacturers and some operators now work to, is the standard to which inflatable play equipment is tested through the PIPA scheme. British Standards are not the law but following them is regarded as “best practice” and would usually be sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the Health & Safety at Work Act. The HSE cited BS EN 14960:2006 in a successful prosecution in May 2009.
We’ve been offering bouncy castle hire in bury, bolton and manchester for over 10 years and pride ourselves in the safety of our equipment. All our castles have a safety health check at least once every 12 months and we endeavour to PIPA certify each of our inflatables, please contact us to check PIPA certification if it’s a requirement of your booking.
Check that any inflatable that you are offered for sale or hire has a PIPA tag attached and ask to see the current test certificate. If the certificate is not available you can check the test status of any tagged equipment.